Dj lessons wanted Dublin

Ellex

Im looking for somewhere to do a DJ course for a complete beginner. Private tutition would be considered. So if anyone out there has any relevant information, I'd much appreciate it!!

Executive Steve

you're probably better off just getting some equipment together and learning by doing and watching - very very very little of the actualy basics can be "taught" really - although i'd recommend bill brewster's "how to dj properly" as a great manual.

the_syco

Either Spin or Phantom did a dj course over the summer. Google it.

Zascar

Your better off just finding a few helpful people to teach you a few basics, go off and practice and then repeat.
Give me a shout I'll help you out, and maybe a few others here might oblige!

jtsuited

Zascar wrote: »

Your better off just finding a few helpful people to teach you a few basics, go off and practice and then repeat.
Give me a shout I'll help you out, and maybe a few others here might oblige!

yeah you gotta figure it out. there is 1 million and one videos on youtube on how to dj (some of them useful).

Ellex

Hey, thanks for the advice.. Im gonna go and get the equipment and no doubt I'll be back lookn for more advice.. Any particular equipment you'd recommend starting off?

Zascar

Depends what you want. Do you want Vinyl, or CDJ's or do you want to go totally digital?
What's your budget?

seannash

first off id say dont even consider vinyl(i love it too,dont get me wrong,miss it also)you simply cant get the tracks you want on vinyl these days,not to mention the amount of digital only releases and labels out there.
if you can afford it pioneer cdj 1000s would be your best bet.
if you do decide vinyl a track on vinyl costs around 7,8 euro where as you can download 3 or 4 tracks on beatport for that price.
not too mention tracks that you find on blogs for free.
now cue the vinyl purists

Zascar

The only reason I think vinyl might be a good option is to get a DVS (Digital Vinyl System) like Torq or Serato Scratch. You can pick up decks for cheap, get any mixer you want, still have the feel of vinyl.

seannash

Zascar wrote: »

The only reason I think vinyl might be a good option is to get a DVS (Digital Vinyl System) like Torq or Serato Scratch. You can pick up decks for cheap, get any mixer you want, still have the feel of vinyl.

factor in the cost of a laptop(unless of course the op has one already.)
if theyve never experienced the feel of vinyl they wont know what there missing.only people whove played with vinyl appreciate it.even people who use ableton live to dj dont understand the joy of the big old jog wheel on a pioneer cdj:D

cdjs are a lot less complicated for someone whos just starting out,plus vinyl is too expensive

Zascar

Yeah I agree.

I'd recommend if doing it properly to get a set of CDJ-800 Mk2's and one of these: http://www.htfr.com/more-info/MR172079

Executive Steve

seannash wrote: »

factor in the cost of a laptop(unless of course the op has one already.)
if theyve never experienced the feel of vinyl they wont know what there missing.only people whove played with vinyl appreciate it.even people who use ableton live to dj dont understand the joy of the big old jog wheel on a pioneer cdj:D

cdjs are a lot less complicated for someone whos just starting out,plus vinyl is too expensive

cd decks are FAR more complicated though!

a vinyl deck has a pitch control and the 33/45 buttons

cd decks are fecking plastered with all manner of fiddly little switches, and the hassle of burning tracks to cd and having to be ultra precious with them is a constant headache, also,if you have an old worn out record it will just crackle a bit (which sounds nice) or at worst the needle wil just skip over the groove and noone will notice... a stray speck of dust invisible to the naked eye (and definitely not in a dark packed club) will cause your deep soulful house tune that you got off beatport that very morning to sound like robocop raping a modem in room full of epileptic fax machines

seannash

[cm]tyranny wrote: »

cd decks are FAR more complicated though!

a vinyl deck has a pitch control and the 33/45 buttons

cd decks are fecking plastered with all manner of fiddly little switches, and the hassle of burning tracks to cd and having to be ultra precious with them is a constant headache, also,if you have an old worn out record it will just crackle a bit (which sounds nice) or at worst the needle wil just skip over the groove and noone will notice... a stray speck of dust invisible to the naked eye (and definitely not in a dark packed club) will cause your deep soulful house tune that you got off beatport that very morning to sound like robocop raping a modem in room full of epileptic fax machines

your joking right?
speck of dust,well hey lets burn another.scratch on a record well ill have to buy another one.
cd decks are as complicated as you want them to be but in thisday and age i think most people are fairly up to speed with technology.its no different to operating a cd player at home except with a cue and pitch control.
as for ultra precious with them,ive never really had to take too much care with them,vinyl i found more fickle.
but horses for courses

Zascar

If you think CD Decks are complicated then I'd say DJ'ing is probably not for you... If you don't know what the buttons so, don't use them. I rarely had any problems with CD's etc, and that was one with ones that were benig thrown around the floor - I think CD's are surprisingly tough and if looked after are generally fine

seannash

Zascar wrote: »

If you think CD Decks are complicated then I'd say DJ'ing is probably not for you... If you don't know what the buttons so, don't use them. I rarely had any problems with CD's etc, and that was one with ones that were benig thrown around the floor - I think CD's are surprisingly tough and if looked after are generally fine

yep agree with this

Ellex

Thanks for all your advice and opinions... My budget is €1000.00 (top end), and after taking everything into consideration, Im gonna go with the Cd decks. Id love ta get my hands on the Vinyl decks but I think the cd decks are a better option for me... Thanks for all your help and Ill keep ya s updated on my progress!!!!!!!!!!

ntlbell

Zascar wrote: »

If you think CD Decks are complicated then I'd say DJ'ing is probably not for you... If you don't know what the buttons so, don't use them. I rarely had any problems with CD's etc, and that was one with ones that were benig thrown around the floor - I think CD's are surprisingly tough and if looked after are generally fine

After 13 years or more of djing (vinyl) I never ever got the hang of cd decks.

Alot of vinyl dj's I know have terrible problems with mixing with cd's this doesn't mean djing is not for him it just means he might need to try something else.

FruitLover

I reckon vinyl is easier to learn with (with a DVS; records are a pain in the hole compared to CDs/mp3s), but it's getting very rare to see people mixing only vinyl in clubs these days. You can always ignore all the fiddly bits on a CD deck, so don't worry about all the buttons and lights. Get yourself a second-hand pair of CDJs and a basic mixer (hint: see sig!) and you're laughing.

ntlbell wrote: »

After 13 years or more of djing (vinyl) I never ever got the hang of cd decks.

Ever tried the Technics CD decks? I prefer them to the Pioneers. They're modelled after the 1200s, with a spinning 10" platter. Still not quite the same, but a close as you're going to get for a CD deck (although I haven't tried those weird Numark hybrid things)

Scubadevils

I'm seriously tempted to invest in a set of CDJ's too I must say... I buy a lot more CD's than I do vinyl these days, the price of vinyl being pretty crazy. I would love to buy a set actually, so much more new music I would have at my disposal to mix.

Edit - those Technics CDJ's look and sound pretty slick!

seannash

the technics deck arent great imo.pioneer nailed it.
you dont want a spinning platter when playing cds.its not a plus.
just cause there modeled after a vinyl deck doesnt make them a good cd deck.
looks wise there the kitty butif we bought stuff on looks we,d all be using vestax turntables.
in 99% of clubs youll find pioneers,so id stick with them
oh and you can pretty much do everything the technics deck can do on a pioneer too.
just my opinion though

FruitLover

Felixdhc wrote: »

Edit - those Technics CDJ's look and sound pretty slick!

Yup (gets interesting around 1:20):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRZmjB75dHM

I've rarely seen them in clubs unfortunately (only the Red Box, because Dave Clarke refuses to use anything else).

Only problems I have is that it takes a good while to load a CD (10 seconds or more), and it seems pretty sensitive to scratched CDs. This might be the particular CDs I was using though, as I haven't had a problem since.

Another pain in the ass is that if you've burnt mp3s to CD as mp3 files, it doesn't show played/remaining time as it does with an mp3/wav burnt as a regular CD track. I don't really understand why there would be a problem with including this feature for mp3s.

seannash wrote: »

in 99% of clubs youll find pioneers,so id stick with them

Yup, I agree, but I found the Technics far easier to get used to than the Pioneers (coming from turntables), so I'd recommend them over Pioneers for a bedroom DJ (or maybe one of each).

Scubadevils

Yeah the Pioneers do seem industry standard alright. I'm not too worried about adjusting to mixing on CD, I'm sure regardless of brand that will take a bit of time coming only from vinyl. Bottom line for me now though is that I would love to get back into it again and vinyl is just too expensive now. I buy a lot of CD's every month as it is so it would be great to have the option to start messing about with mixing them.

So I guess it's those CDJ1000's or nothing then is it?!

Scubadevils

Really want these now!

http://www.thomann.de/ie/pioneer_cdj1000_mkiii.htm

Fecked if I'm paying full price for them though. Do they tend to hold value 2nd hand as 1210's do?

seannash

Felixdhc wrote: »

Yeah the Pioneers do seem industry standard alright. I'm not too worried about adjusting to mixing on CD, I'm sure regardless of brand that will take a bit of time coming only from vinyl. Bottom line for me now though is that I would love to get back into it again and vinyl is just too expensive now. I buy a lot of CD's every month as it is so it would be great to have the option to start messing about with mixing them.

So I guess it's those CDJ1000's or nothing then is it?!

the transition isnt really that tough to be honest.its the exact same principles so youll find it pretty easy.
now this is a personal preference but i wouldnt put the cdj in vinyl mode.
its not going to work like a deck so dont even try emanulate it.stick with cdj mode and youll be fine.
pioneers arent the only choice but imo there the best.im still using a pair of cdj 1000 mk 1s.mk 11 are fine too.
as for the problems with the technics not reading info on mp3,s ive never encountered a problem like that with the cdjs

Scubadevils

seannash wrote: »

the transition isnt really that tough to be honest.its the exact same principles so youll find it pretty easy.
now this is a personal preference but i wouldnt put the cdj in vinyl mode.
its not going to work like a deck so dont even try emanulate it.stick with cdj mode and youll be fine.
pioneers arent the only choice but imo there the best.im still using a pair of cdj 1000 mk 1s.mk 11 are fine too.
as for the problems with the technics not reading info on mp3,s ive never encountered a problem like that with the cdjs

Cheers, I must try get a shot of them somewhere and see what I think. I know a brief try won't obviously give a proper feel for them... I'm very curious as to how tracks are queued, beat matched etc, just seems a strange concept coming from having to physically hold the vinyl etc. Must get to googling on this one!

seannash

Felixdhc wrote: »

Cheers, I must try get a shot of them somewhere and see what I think. I know a brief try won't obviously give a proper feel for them... I'm very curious as to how tracks are queued, beat matched etc, just seems a strange concept coming from having to physically hold the vinyl etc. Must get to googling on this one!

i had my old dj partner at my apt last month.he never played on them before.
literally within 5 minutes of me showing him how to cue he had the hang of it.
he played a gig with me last night on them.no problems at all
his own word were "piece of piss these things"
honestly its a doddle man

Scubadevils

Yeah reckon I'll definitely invest once I can afford them, I'm sold on the idea now - I just feel I would have so much more in the way of options with CDJ's. Time to move with the times I reckon! :pac:

Although I'm sure I will still pick up the odd 12" as I go along... mixer can take a few inputs so may as well use them!

Riesen_Meal

Felixdhc wrote: »

Really want these now!

http://www.thomann.de/ie/pioneer_cdj1000_mkiii.htm

Fecked if I'm paying full price for them though. Do they tend to hold value 2nd hand as 1210's do?

They do indeed hold their value, I have 2 of em, they are gods gift as far as me (and my back) are concerned!!!!

Get them from Niall in Aquarius for 1140 full Irish warranty

http://www.aquariussound.ie/prod.php?id=47&cat=CD%20Players&sub=Pioneer

Gian-Pa

jtsuited wrote: »

yeah you gotta figure it out. there is 1 million and one videos on youtube on how to dj (some of them useful).

try this:
www.djtutor.com
http://www.djtutor.com/ellaskins

you can also find some DVD tutorials

of course everything you learn or see afterwards you have to practice and practice and practice....

try also recording your mix. this has helped my a lot understanding what I was doing wrong (with a digital camera) or what I could to better or different

Practice & Enjoy

djdannybremner

I could teach you have all the equipment and possible on the job training